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Derek's racist beliefs are cemented, and became the springboard to his activism and leadership of the skinheads when his father is killed by a black man, fighting a fire in a crack house in an inner-city neighborhood. When two young African-Americans try to steal his car, Derek is determined that he, unlike his beloved father, will emerge the winner. The film makes it clear that Derek has been waiting for this to happen. Again, the film does not excuse the theft of his vehicle, but indicates that the world is filled with potential justifications for racism, and Derek is looking for such 'reasons' to engage in hateful action. Derek is both a product of his environment and his simmering male adolescent rage.
Derek sent to prison for three years. His younger brother tries to assume Derek's role by harassing immigrants and other non-whites. He also finds himself, like Derek, of being in the uncomfortable position of being taught by an articulate, charismatic, and caring African-American history teacher in high school. This individual provides the moral center of the film, and explains the reason for its title: only by gaining a sense of history and looking beyond one's immediate ethnic enclave and past can an individual gain a sense of perspective upon the world.
Prison humbles and humanizes Derek. Although Derek tries to hold fast to his white supremacist ways, this proves difficult, given...
After being assigned to laundry duty, he must learn to work with African-Americans. He leaves prison resolved to begin a new life, and filled with a new sense of responsibility to set his brother Danny 'straight.' "I kept asking myself all the time, how did I buy into this shit? It was because I was pissed off, and nothing I ever did ever took that feeling away. I killed two guys, Danny, I killed them. And it didn't make me feel any different. It just got me more lost and I'm tired of being pissed off, Danny. I'm just tired of it."
The film is not told chronologically. To show the contrast between Derek's former life and his new way of looking at the world, the film's flashbacks are in black-and-white, to symbolize the simplicity of Derek's old ideology, while the present is shot in color. Although the film's themes are dark, American History X suggests that there is always the prospect of hope and redemption for all individuals, no matter what their personal history, and no matter how fallen. Derek, as a white supremacist, was unforgiving about his father's death. After prison, he emerges a new man, forgiving of others and able to embrace the forgiveness of the world, and to be a positive influence upon the life of his younger brother.
Work Cited
American History X. Directed by Tony Kaye. 1998.
Work Cited
American History X. Directed by Tony Kaye. 1998.
Vinyard's allegiance to the swastika is an allegiance to an idea that the America of today is perhaps not as equal, peaceful or harmonious as the average American would like to believe. The image is a shattering of the idea that the past was terrible, but the present is better. Rather, Vinyard's right hand pressed against his swastika-inscribed heart both repels and evokes revulsion. Iconic photographs stir a sense
235) by organizing them into groups throughout the film, the movie helped dispel stereotypes by showing the multiculturally diverse struggling with the same problems in the same area. Although they lived in the same are and struggled with many of the same social problems, the film certainly allowed viewers to see the communication barriers that developed between members of different races. This is especially important for the counselor who wishes
The film brings up numerous questions such as how does an individual descend so far and so deep into a movement as riddled with hate and brutality as Neo-Nazism to the extent that they would feel justified in murdering for this "cause." The film offers several answers, some of them satisfactory and some of them not; the answers which are less acceptable can be as useful in the task of
They went into a spending frenzy that would carry them though the next decade. They bought houses, started families and settled down to a life of normalcy after a decade of chaos. Illustrations began to return to resemble that of fine are of earlier times. The Invitation. Ben Stahl. Date unknown magazine photo. Al Parker. Date unknown Rise of the Atomic Age (1950-1960) The prosperity that came with the end of the
Politics at the Movies—Changing Visions of the American Dream The so-called “American Dream” has changed in fundamental ways over the years, beginning with a modest vision for a steady job with a living wage, a little house with a white picket fence, a decent car, a happy marriage and good kids who did not use drugs. Over the years, though, this modest vision transformed into far greater aspirations, including a large
American War for Independence Wars are fought for many reasons, but freedom from oppression is by far the noblest. The Colonial States of America were British ruled until the year 1776, when the Declaration of Independence called for a complete withdrawal of the King's forces from the American colonies. (Decl. Of Indep. Entire.) The American War for Independence was a revolutionary war by every definition of the word; the ruling British